Punching Up is making jokes at the expense of someone who is of higher power, class, or privilege. It is also called “speaking truth to power,” which is an expression for confronting authority figures, oppression, and injustices. 

Punching up is a tool used in satire.

Satire is a form of comedy used to expose, ridicule, or criticize people’s stupidity, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings. It shines a light on societal issues and serves as a constructive social criticism. Satire is a weapon against the powerful.

If you are tackling satire, you have to be explicitly clear with who your target is and what your criticism is. Spell out and break down all the information the audience needs to understand what it is you are trying to highlight. If you aren’t specific and instead are too broad, your work could make you come off as an oppressor instead of shining a light on what you’re trying to call out.

Regardless of whether you are using satire, always punch up when writing jokes or sketches.

Punching Sideways is making jokes at the expense of yourself and your own direct experiences and birthright.

Punching Down is making jokes at the expense of people from historically marginalized and underrepresented communities based on age, disability, gender, marriage status, size, veteran status, pregnancy and maternity, race/ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. Punching down is insulting, offensive, and often bigoted. Punching down could mute underrepresented voices in comedy and reject inclusivity. Racist jokes, sexist jokes, gay jokes, rape jokes, ableist jokes, ageist jokes, are all examples of punching down. They are all at the expense of marginalized groups. Targeting marginalized groups continues to abuse the already abused. Always punch up. Never punch down. 

Write what you know — write and perform your stories and experiences. You should write sketches or stand-up about things that you are in the position to write. It is best to not write on behalf of someone else, especially if the person is from a marginalized group, as you do not have ownership of that experience. For example, if you are a cis person, don’t write on behalf of a trans person’s experience. If you are a white person, don’t write on behalf of a POC’s experience. Writing about an experience that is not yours is unintentionally punching down.